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November 27, 2015

Who owns space? US asteroid-mining act is dangerous and potentially illegal
Kent, UK (The Conversation) Nov 27, 2015
An event of cosmic proportions occurred on November 18 when the US congress passed the Space Act of 2015 into law. The legislation will give US space firms the rights to own and sell natural resources they mine from bodies in space, including asteroids. Although the act, passed with bipartisan support, still requires President Obama's signature, it is already the most significant salvo that has been fired in the ideological battle over ownership of the cosmos. It goes against a number of treaties ... read more

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Neptune-size exoplanet around a red dwarf star A team of astronomers have used the LCOGT network to detect light scattered by tiny particles (called Rayleigh scattering), through the atmosphere of a Neptune-size transiting exoplanet. This sugges ... more		Human reflexes may keep legged robots from tripping Trips and stumbles too often lead to falls for amputees using leg prosthetics, but a robotic leg prosthesis being developed at Carnegie Mellon University promises to help users recover their balance ... more		ExoMars has historical, practical significance for Russia, Europe The ExoMars program to explore the environment on Mars has historical and practical significance for Russia and Europe, deputy-head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Sergei Savelev, said Thursd ... more
				ExoMars prepares to leave Europe for launch site The two ExoMars spacecraft of the 2016 mission are being prepared for shipping to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan ahead of their launch in March. A joint endeavour with Russia's Roscosmo ... more		President Obama signs bill recognizing asteroid resource property rights into law Planetary Resources, the asteroid mining company, applauds President Obama who signed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (H.R. 2262) into law. This law recognizes the right of U.S. ... more

China dreams of electric sheep at robot conference In a martial artist's white silk pyjamas, a man practised tai-chi in harmony with a motorised arm at a Beijing exhibition showcasing a vision of robots with Chinese characteristics. ... more		SSL selected to provide new high throughput satellite to Telesat Space Systems Loral (SSL) has announced that it has been selected to build a powerful, high throughput communications satellite for Telesat, one of the world's top satellite operators. The new ... more		U.S. defense in free fall U.S. and Saudis conduct Middle East's largest counter-drone exercise Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact		Tracking down the 'missing' carbon from the Martian atmosphere Mars is blanketed by a thin, mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere--one that is far too thin to prevent large amounts of water on the surface of the planet from subliming or evaporating. But many researc ... more
				Mars to lose its largest moon, Phobos, but gain a ring Mars' largest moon, Phobos, is slowly falling toward the planet, but rather than smash into the surface, it likely will be shredded and the pieces strewn about the planet in a ring like the rings en ... more		New detector perfect for asteroid mining, planetary research The grizzled asteroid miner is a stock character in science fiction. Now, a couple of recent events - one legal and the other technological - have brought asteroid mining a step closer to reality. ... more

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NASA selects Northeastern for humanoid robot research On Tuesday, NASA announced that Northeastern and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will perform advanced research and development work on humanoid robot prototypes, a project that could help ... more		How DSCOVR Could Help in Exoplanet Hunting Could a space weather satellite be helpful in exoplanet hunting? Well, it now turns out it could. According to a team of scientists led by Stephen Kane from the San Francisco State University, the D ... more		Fossil fuels harm health from 'cradle to grave': report Trash, mulch and security: All jobs for troops in Washington Rising oceans to threaten 1.5 million Australians by 2050: report		Retro Exo and Its Originators Exoplanets are mysterious, they're complicated, they're important, they're awe-inspiring. And, to a team of artists at the Jet Propulsion Lab, they're also totally fun. They're a topic for endless a ... more
New Horizons documents one rotation of Charon On approach to the Pluto system in July 2015, the cameras on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured images of the largest of Pluto's five moons, Charon, rotating over the course of a full day. ... more		China's scientific satellites to enter uncharted territory A series of scientific satellites, including one to probe dark matter, will be launched later this year and next year, said Wu Ji, director of the National Space Science Center under the Chinese Aca ... more		Yet more proof of Einstein's general theory of relativity A Florida State University high-performance computing researcher has predicted a physical effect that would help physicists and astronomers provide fresh evidence of the correctness of Einstein's ge ... more		Study: Mars to become a ringed planet following death of its moon A new study, published in Nature Geoscience, suggests Mars could become ringed if its smaller moon Phobos falls apart, as scientists believe it will. ... more

	Tyson weighs in on New Horizons' Pluto discoveries The New Horizons spacecraft completed its 3 billion mile journey to Pluto in July and the discoveries continue to pour in every week as NASA scientists receive and analyze data and images from the f ... more		Composite images compare sunlit faces of Pluto New composite images released by NASA show Pluto and Charon lit up by the sun. The images were taken by New Horizons' cameras as the probe approached the dwarf planet and its moon. ... more

EU to fast-track review of 2035 combustion-engine ban

Norway sovereign wealth fund drops French miner over environmental fears

EU split on 2040 climate goal ahead of UN summit

Ocular health in ISS Crews adds vision to space		Forming planet observed for first time		Accelerating fusion research through the cutting edge supercomputer		Radiation blasts leave most Earth-like planet uninhabitable, new research suggests		UA researchers capture first photo of planet in making
Computers uncover mechanism that stabilizes plasma within tokamaks		A witness to a wet early Mars		Two Moons About Saturn		Synthetic muscle experiment will likely return to Earth in March		NASA awards two robots to university groups for upgrades

NASA completes heat shield testing for future Mars exploration vehicles

'Chemical Laptop' Could Search for Signs of Life Outside Earth

The "Omics" of Space Travel

Curiosity Mars Rover Heads Toward Active Dunes

New Super H-mode regime could greatly increase fusion power

China to launch Dark Matter Satellite in mid-December

Rocket Scientists to Launch Planet-Finding Telescope

5400mph winds discovered hurtling around planet outside solar system

Airbus Defence and Space delivers first ACES Ground Terminal

China's satellite expo opens

China to better integrate satellite applications with Internet

New exoplanet in our neighborhood

Cassini Finds Monstrous Ice Cloud in Titan's South Polar Region

Astronomers eager to get a whiff of newfound Venus-like planet

Upgrade Helps NASA Study Mineral Veins on Mars

Secondhand Spacecraft Has Firsthand Asteroid Experience

Asteroid ripped apart to form star's glowing ring system

Daring move for first US-China fusion team

Medicines do not seem to degrade faster in space

New Results from GPI Exoplanet Survey

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